For as long as we’ve been burying our dead and conceptualizing a future, we’ve been trying to reach them and divine it.
From astrology to coffee grounds, and as far back as ancient Mesopotamians reading the entrails of their sacrifices and the Oracle at Delphi huffing fumes and purring prophecy, we have been and remain a seeking people.
Recently, the COVID pandemic gave rise to a sharp increase in New Yorkers seeking psychic readings, with some abandoning traditional therapy in favor of answers offered by the esoteric arts.
But, for every legit seer with an interest in shedding light and opening a channel, there’s a scammer out to exploit the hopes of strangers. How can the curious discern true healing from extortionate horses–t?
With a few key takeaways from one of the real ones, my friend.
Aiding us in this journey is intuitive energy practitioner Nicole Love, a graduate of the Clairvoyant Healing Program of the Berkeley Psychic Institute and owner of Soul Gratitude Holistic Healing.
Love defines psychic power as a connection to Source energy: “It’s the ability to be present in the physical reality and reach through the veil. We need to learn how to peel back the layers to connect to spirit more.”
She tells The Post that everyone possesses the very abilities we look for in psychics, “We all are intuitive, we all feel things or know things or see things or hear things and we can develop all of those things. A lot depends on how tuned in or programmed out of it people are.”
Because we all have access to psychic abilities, Love notes that what makes a psychic fraudulent is not their level of clairvoyance but whether they intend to heal/illuminate or to exploit/extort.
As Love tells The Post, there’s a correlation between the power dynamics of religion and psychic scammers.
“The negative side of psychic scammers is like the negative side of the dogma of religion,” she explained. “I feel like scammers scare people away from wanting to learn how to be closer to their own higher selves and to spirit. As far as religion goes, the dogma and the control are similar, there’s the idea that power can be held over someone to manipulate them.”
What has driven people from time immemorial to seek answers from beyond? Love tells The Post, “When people are feeling depressed or anxious they want some hope kind of hope, something else from life and they look to the unknown and the mystery.”
Regardless of who, why, or what you are seeking, read on to learn more about psychic red flags.
Fear mongering
As our current cultural landscape reflects, exploiting unfounded fears is a great way to engender false trust and alliance. If the psychic you are working with starts leaning heavily on the doom speak or suggesting that financial intervention can fix your fate, step away.
While a true psychic may be able to sense hardships to come (PS, we all have hardships to come), a legitimate seer will arm you with the confidence to face, accept, and integrate the wisdom that is earned through adversity.
As Love tells The Post, “It’s really about teaching us how to deepen into ourselves in every experience we go through.”
Pay for prayers
Love tells The Post, “A warning sign for me is someone that makes some sort of threat about a family member or a loved one being in peril and then asks for money for prayers for them. Needing to buy a whole bunch of candles or supplies to pray for them, etc. If anyone’s making threats or suggesting ‘this could happen unless they pray for them,’ then that’s a big flag.”
Even Love is not immune to the predatory tactics of psychics. In her 20s, she visited a woman who insisted that for a price, she could pray away the imminent suicide of one of Love’s family members.
Trust the vibe
Love recalls that the above encounter was preceded by an initial feeling of unease. She tells The Post, “I went in and felt this energy swirl like she was putting a blanket of energy around me to control me. There’s a shadow side to clairvoyance, and it’s good to be aware of it.”
Her advice? Trust the vibe and your intuition. If it feels off, it is — and you should feel comfortable ceasing or leaving a reading at any time.
One should never abide a bad vibe, but as Love suggests, you shouldn’t shy away from “strange,” as a peculiar-seeming psychic is not necessarily a bad thing.
“They might seem strange, but if they’re kind, strange is not a red flag,” Love reasoned. “I use the term ‘peculiar,’ as the psychic might feel ungrounded to others because they’re going through the veil so much.”
Too many questions
A true, well-intentioned psychic might ask questions to clarify but will always stop short of “leading the witness” or blatantly baiting for information.
A psychic reading is an exchange and an opportunity, as Love explains, to connect directly with messages from our higher selves.
The real deal will feel like a conduit, not a fishing hook.
Ancestral atonement
A popular psychic scam is to claim that the evil deeds of a long-dead ancestor are affecting your family. Typically the “psychic” will offer to remove this curse for a price, graciously clearing the way for happiness and prosperity to find you.
The real deal will never make the reading about the actions of another person or suggest you can clear karmic debts with the currency of cash.
Power plays
Love warns against psychics on a power trip or high AF on their own god complex.
“It’s a warning sign to me if someone thinks that they’re more powerful than you because they have this ability because really, everyone has it. Our higher selves are the ones that really know what’s up for us and we all are our own biggest teachers,” Love tells The Post.
“A reading should allow us to bring in our own wisdom. If someone’s telling you how it is and you’re saying, ‘Well, no, it’s not really like that,’ and they trump you, that’s a red flag,” she continued.
Love advises entering readings with a firm sense of self and, “Be sovereign in your space, even when you’re talking to someone that you’re giving your power to.”
Choosing the right channel
Psychic readings are an excellent way to heighten our own psychic abilities and expand our perception of the world.
As Love imparts, “When someone is a connected channel, like the Spirit into the physical, just being around them helps you connect more with your spirit and bring it into the physical. To me, that’s a healing.”
If you’re looking for a conduit to connect you, your best bet is to work with someone who has been personally recommended and verified by a trusted friend. To contact Love about a reading for you or your pet, visit her website here.
Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture and personal experience. She is also an accomplished writer who has profiled a variety of artists and performers, as well as extensively chronicled her experiences while traveling. Among the many intriguing topics she has tackled are cemetery etiquette, her love for dive bars, Cuban Airbnbs, a “girls guide” to strip clubs and the “weirdest” foods available abroad.
